Part of Newmarket train station, the ‘Heart and soul’ of Flemington, set to be demolished
Linh Ly
May 20, 2014

Moonee Valley Council received an application on May 13 for demolition consent on the eastern side of station, which fronts Pin Oak Cres in Flemington.

Mayor Jan Chantry said the proposal did not seek to demolish the entire station but the portion of the building south of the existing archway and entrance.

Cr Chantry said it is the council’s understanding that the request was made due to structural issues.

“However, Metro Trains have noted that as part of the general works and upgrades to the station, specific bracing and structural measures will be included to the remaining portion of the building to help ensure the ongoing retention of the station,” Cr Chantry said.

Metro Trains spokeswoman Pauline O’Connor said movement of the building had been detected and they needed a long-term solution to address settlement issues.

Ms O’Connor said two design solutions were considered for the station – either demolishing it entirely or demolishing half of it and building a foundation to support and stabilise the remaining building.

“We recognise the significance of the building, and this is why we are retaining half of the building,” she said.

“During the demolition of half of the building, permanent support structures will be built to ensure the remaining building is stabilised long-term.”

Moonee Valley Council will seek State Government support to protect Newmarket Train Station
Linh Ly
May 28, 2014

Moonee Valley Council will seek urgent heritage protection from the State Government for the Newmarket Train Station site.

Last night the council unanimously supported Cr Nicole Marshall’s motion to write to the State Government to seek an interim heritage overlay so that more investigations could be done to protect the station’s facade.

Proposed works by Metro Trains and Public Transport Victoria have raised fears that the historical and much-loved ‘heart and soul’ of Flemington could be lost.

Metro Trains and Public Transport Victoria want to demolish 50 per cent of the citybound platform building, facing Pin Oak Cres, and build a foundation to stabilise the remaining structure.

Cr Marshall said it was a very special building that meant a great deal to the community and demolishing it would be irreversible.

“We have to try and protect the station now and the best thing to do is through an interim heritage overlay,” Cr Marshall said.

“From the advice we have to date, it doesn’t appear to put the public at risk.”

Cr Cam Nation said there was no reason why the station could not be improved while maintaining its unique facade.

Cr Jim Cusack said Pin Oak Cres traders needed the station to maintain the way it looked because it fit in with the neighbourhood character.

“There are plenty of engineering alternatives rather than pulling down the station,” Cr Cusack said.

As part of the proposed $935,000 project, the canopy will also be upgraded to cover 60 per cent of the platform. It currently covers 20 per cent.

My two cents

So what do I think about the demolition proposals and the fight to save the building?

Unlike many local residents, I wouldn’t call Newmarket station a “very special building” – sure, it looks nice and is a distinctive part of the streetscape, but from a heritage perspective it isn’t significant at anything higher than a local level.

Built in 1924 as a replacement for the previous timber structure, the station building at Newmarket was one of many brick structures that the Victorian Railways constructed in the period following the electrification of the suburban network, in response to the growth in patronage.

My main concern with Melbourne’s recent railway station projects is when form doesn’t follow function, leaving us with expensive show ponies such as the “Colander Bridge” at Footscray station which leaks every time it rains, or where concerns about vandalism trump aesthetics, leaving us with concrete monoliths like Coolaroo that look more like a prison than a railway station.

For me, what really pisses me off at Newmarket isn’t the demolition itself, but the reason we have ended up in this situation – infrastructure falling into disrepair due to a lack of maintenance, a rail operator wanting to take the cheap way out, and a local community having to fight to keep the facilities they already have.

All up Public Transport Victoria is spending $935,000 on the works to demolish half the building and reinforce the remaining part. They also plan to install a canopy that will cover 60 per cent of the platform – up from the 20 per cent covered by the existing veranda.

What PTV and Metro Trains seem to be missing in their spin is that the current upgrade is not an either/or proposition – years ago they could have extended the veranda in a sympathetic way to cover the entire platform, while at the same time completing works to ensure the building was structurally sound, avoiding the need for demolition of what is already there.

Metro Trains has backed down from a plan to partly demolish Newmarket Station’s historic platform building as part of an upgrade project.

Metro Trains spokeswoman Larisa Tait said they decided, following a review conducted in partnership with Moonee Valley Council, to “investigate alternative design solutions to address the structural issues while retaining the entire station building”.

“Metro will present the design solutions as soon as they are developed to Public Transport Victoria for their consideration,” Ms Tait said.

Moonee Valley Council will fight to save historic Newmarket station from development
Tamara Heath
August 7, 2014

An application to have Newmarket train station put on the state heritage register has been knocked back.

A Heritage Victoria report, released on July 25, found the station had “local but not state significance”, with executive director Tim Smith saying modifications since the 1960s to the 90-year-old station buildings had diminished their significance.

Mr Smith said stations on the Victorian Heritage Register, including Essendon, Caulfield, Footscray and Glenferrie, were better examples of Edwardian and federation rail architecture.

Moonee Valley Mayor Jan Chantry said while the council did not submit the Heritage Victoria application, it was “moving forward” with plans to apply a heritage overlay to the site after a council-commissioned study found the station had local historic and aesthetic significance.

Councillor Nicole Marshall said Planning Minister Matthew Guy authorised the council to apply a permanent heritage overlay to the site, which would give it control over the station.

A sensible outcome from my perspective – Newmarket is a nice station and requires some protection, but calling it significant at the state level is a long bow to draw.

Newmarket is the only one I can think of there the elevated station is out in the ‘open’ – Glenferrie and Auburn are integrated with the shops around them; Gardenvale and Collingwood are elevated timber buildings among trees.